Religious Crimes in Developing Countries Indian Perspective

Page 673 - 683
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LAW

MANAGEMENT & HUMANITIES
[ISSN 2581-5369]
Volume 3 | Issue 2
2020
© 2020 International Journal of Law Management & Humanities
Follow this and additional works at: https://www.ijlmh.com/

Part of VidhiAagaz – Inking Your Brain (https://www.vidhiaagaz.com)
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the International Journal of Law Management &
Humanities at VidhiAagaz. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Journal of Law Management
& Humanities after due review.
Further, in case of any suggestion or complaints, please contact Gyan@vidhiaagaz.com.

To submit your Manuscript for Publication at International Journal of Law Management &
Humanities, kindly email your Manuscript at editor.ijlmh@gmail.com
673 International Journal of Law Management & Humanities [Vol. 3 Iss 2; 673]
Religious Crimes in Developing Countries:

Indian Perspective
KRITI GARG1
ABSTRACT
India has experienced many precedents of what is referred to as hate crime or communal
violence since independence. This communal violence has badly affected India’s religious
minorities like muslims, Sikhs and Christians. This type of violence is mainly for used for
social, economic and political gains. This type of violence is frequently met with mobs and
in certain cases direct collaboration with state actors, ranging from exhorting violence
through hate speech and denying to properly investigate the incidents after they have
occurred. It follows that communal violence further exhorting the disparage of those
affected and to those who face high levels of uncertainty alongside merger access to justice.
These minorities have long been the target of different types of persecution such as threats,
hate crimes, forced conversions and attacks on places of worship. Although in recent years
there has been rise in incidents of communal violence against India’s religious minorities.
Threats, hate speech and a wave of attacks around cow slaughter have particularly
targeted muslims as well as to people who belongs to lower castes. Now a days, this
violence has led to greater fear amongst religious minorities in particular muslims. Also
christians have recently faced communal violence at the hands of mob who have attacked
churches with false claims of forced conversion; reports of some minor cases of violence
against sikhs community have recently emerged as well.
“All Religions are founded on the same moral laws. My ethical religion is made up of laws
which bind men all over the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi
I. INTRODUCTION
Secularism is an integral part of our country. As envisaged in the preamble of Indian
constitution that state will have no religion and all citizens will be equally entitled to practice
and propagate the religion of their own choice. In S R Bommai and Others v Union of India,2it
was held that the freedom of religion is a fundamental right provided to all the citizens of India.
Religion is the most important aspect for all the Indian's most of the world's population consider
1
Student of School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore, India.
2
1994 SCC(3)(1)
© 2020. International Journal of Law Management & Humanities [ISSN 2581-5369]
religion as there important aspect. The Indian constitution provides the protection of religious
belief but it also provides the punishment for people who misuse those laws. Religion is a
sensitive topic and it not only involves moral of a person but also the emotion and breeding of
an individual. Independent India has a long tradition of religious tolerance and religious
freedom is explicitly protected under its constitution. India is the world’s second-most
populous country with more than 1.3 billion people and the origin of four major world
religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. About 180 million Muslim population
reside in India which is third largest country in the world after Indonesia and Pakistan3. A small
christian minority of about 30 million people also resides here. India is a secular nation with
thousands of ethnic groups and 22 official languages. Religious laws are the aggregate of
religious, moral, social, and legal duties and obligations. Examples include christian canon law,
Islamic sharia and hindu law. Religious hate is a brutality against minorities. People have
prejudice which infers against somebody's race. Spreading religious hate is regular nowadays.
In India there have been numerous examples of minorities where religious contempt is
transformed into religious brutality. Individuals of India are associated with religion that
occasionally they disgrace different religions. Offending another religion and indicating
contempt to other religion is regular in India mostly against minorities. These crimes are
variously known as lynching, vigilante violence, murders etc. Hate crimes are most frequently
regulated under civil law and religious laws. Also in some countries there exist provisions for
criminal penalties in cases of regulating hate crimes but India doesn’t have any law related to
it.
II. STUDY ON RELIGIOUS LAW AND HATE CRIME
 What are religious laws?
Religious Laws are that laws which are based on morality, codes of ethics and obligations of
particular religion. Religion and law have always been interrelated.4In India every person have
different religion, caste and have their own belief and faith. Their belief is decided by the set of
laws. These laws are always made by considering customs and traditions followed by that different
communities. Indians are following these laws since the colonial period. India has confined the
system of religion-based and community-specific “personal laws,” offering individuals a
choice between their respective personal laws and the parallel secular laws. The personal laws
applicable to various communities have been codified and reformed to varying extents such as
3
Kronstadt K. Alan, India :Religious Freedom Issues, Congressional Research Service, August 2018 (Apr 29
2020, 19:55 IST) https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1281657/
4
Hate Crime, Dictionary.com(Digital Edition,2012)
hindu law, Muslim law and christian law.
 What are hate crimes?
Hate crime is defined as a crime which is usually motivated by prejudice or intolerant toward
an particular ethnicity, colour, national origin, gender, religion, disability or sexual orientation.
Hate crime are criminal acts committed with a bias motive. It is that motive that makes hate
crime different from other crimes. It describes a type of crime rather than a specific offence
within Indian Penal Code, 18. The essentials of hate crime are broadly classified as criminal
offence (base offence) and bias motive. Hate crime differ from ordinary crime not only because
of offender but also because of impact on victim. They are selected on basis of what they
represent rather than what they are5. Hate crime damages the fabric of society and fragment
societies. It was a message about a victim and their right to belong to that society. It violates
many rights of citizens like right equality, human dignity and causes greater psychological
injury leading to feeling of depression and anxiety. Other members of the targeted group can
feel not only at risk of future attacks but also of discrimination.
III. MINORITIES IN INDIA AND HATE CRIMES

“When someone commits a crime motivated by hate, it is not just an attack on one innocent
person, but an attack on the entire State”
India’s total population was estimated to be nearly 1.3 billion out of which approximately 200
million are members of religious minorities groups6. The ministry of minority affairs is a
ministry of government of India which was indented of ministry of social justice and
empowerment. It is the supreme body of union government for the minority communities in
India which include Sikhs, Muslims, buddhists, christians, jain and zoroastrians notified as
minority communities in the gazette of India under section 2(c) of the national commission for
minorities Act 1992. However, the constitution of India grants special fundamental rights for
the protection and advancement of minorities in India. The term “minority” itself is not
mentioned in the Indian constitution itself.
5
Hate Crime Laws: a Practical Guide, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, March 2009 (Apr
29 2020, 19:25 IST) https://www.osce.org/odihr/36426
6
CIA, ‘World Factbook – India’, (People and society), Feb 22, 2018 (Apr 22, 2020 11:00 IST),
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html
FIGURE1: India’s 2011 Census, a Population turning point
 MUSLIMS
The Muslim religious minority in India which originally entered as immigrants soon after the
advent of Islam in arabia found fertile ground for expansion and domination over the sub-
continent. The historical events converted India into an arena of inter-religious tensions and
conflicts over the century. The Muslim minority in India today has an estimated population of
about million and constitutes nearly 12% of its people.
Various Crimes Against Muslims
Different type of crime occurs against Muslims in India. Some of them are as follows:
 Anti-Conversion Laws
The definition of ‘conversion’ in state acts is defined as renouncing one religion and adopting
another. At the state level, freedom of religion acts has been enacted to regulate religious
conversions carried out by force, fraud or other inducements. In 1980’s, the target of anti-
conversion legislation was largely Muslims seeking to convert non-Muslims. Despite the fact
that the right to freedom of religion or belief is clearly recognized in the Indian constitution. In
annual report of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF),7 it
was described that several limitations to the right to freedom of religion or belief and challenges
faced by religious minorities in India are mostly against Muslims.
 Mob-Lynching
Lynching is defined as putting to death (as by hanging) by mob action without legal approval
or permission. In other words, lynching is one form of vigilantismitself the act of law
enforcement undertaken without legal authority by a self-appointed group of people.8
7
India Chapter 2019- Annual Report,April 2019 (Apr 25, 2020,
09:45IST)https://www.uscirf.gov/countries/India#annual-reports-chapters-summaries
8
LYNCHING WITHOUT END, Citizens Against Hate Crime, Sept 2017, (Apr 27, 2020, 11:25 IST),
http://www.misaal.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/FINAL-report-Lynching-without-End.
Cow related violence at the hands of vigilantes who take the law into their own hands in the
name of ‘cow protection’ is among the leading recorded source of violence against Muslims in
India.
CASE LAW: PEHLU KHAN
It is a sign of the times that uncontrolled mobs can get away with day light murder.
The deliverence of all those charged by the police of rajasthan with beating a farmer pehlu
khan to death in april 2017 is a reminder that there is a huge gap between capturing footage of
a man being beaten up. The justice of district court of alwar has given the benefit of doubt to
all the six men charged with khan’s murder. The reason given is that the persons name is not
there in the charge-sheeted. Based on mobile call records and the statement of people at the
shelter, the police gave a clean chitto different set of people including three minors. The court
also need not have held objectionable the footage of the incident as the apex court had ruled
that authentic electronic evidence can be accepted even in the absence of the certification
required under the act of evidence.
Last year, jharkhand managed to obtain truth in two cases of lynching but this case of pehlu
khan had typical significance. It was vital that the culprits should be convicted. Each such
incident damages India’s image as a modern democracy. There is generous evidence to suggest
that the institutional bias in favour of mob is working against the justice. The CID-Crime
Branch took the case two months after the incident and filed a charge sheet.. Even after the
change of administration last year, the police obtained permission to prosecute two sons of
pehlu khan. This indicates the motive with which cattle protection laws are implemented. The
chief minister of the state who recently got a new expansive law enacted to punish lynching
has promised to take the matter on appeal. A appeal may not satisfy; orders for a fresh
investigation and trial — one that would lead to the formal allegation of those responsible for
the attack — may be needed to restore the justice.9
 CHRISTIANS
Christianity is third largest religion in our country after Islam and hinduism with approximately
28 million followers. The nature of hate crimes against christians ranges from attacks on
property and trashing to physical assaults. Victims may be targeted simply for being Christians
because they belong to a particular denomination or because their denomination of Christianity
9
Justice for the mob : On Pehlu Khan case verdict, August 17 2019 ( Apr 27, 2020,
10:45IST)www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/justice-for-the-mob/article29112879.ece/amp/
is associated with a specific ethnic group.10 Various religious crime occurs in India against
christians. Some of them are described here as follows:
 Anti-Conversion Laws
One of the primary causes of violence against the christian community is the making of
allegations of conversions by force and allurement. In the central Indian state of Madhya
Pradesh police arrested 13 people including a blind couple on january 14, 2016 for allegedly
trying to convert a few residents by offering inducements or using force. Freedom of faith is a
constitutional provision but its implementation depends on state governments which control
law and order. The ironically titled “freedom of religion” acts enacted by several states remain
a major source of harassment for christians in society. Section 295A and 153A of IPC remains
favorite instrument of the police and non-state groups to beat christian people and to arrest
them. Rev. Stainislaus v. State of Madhya Pradesh11is the key judicial pronouncement on the
validity of anti-conversion laws.
 Targeted the violence against Christians
Over the past 7 years India has risen from rank 31 to 10 on Open Doors World Watch List
ranking just behind iran in persecution severity.12The latest attacks include two murders- one
in orissa and the other in chhattisgarh by militants. Both were carried out in february. In other
cases of targeted violence christians have been forced to run their lives.
 Other Laws
The misuse of Foreign Contribution Regulations Act against developmental activities of the
church and the misuse of other laws such as the Juvenile Justice Act to harass christian
orphanages has been one of the other ways in which laws have been selectively used against
the christian community.
 SIKHS
Sikhs are a small minority but hold notable position throughout Indian society. Faced with an
overwhelming hindu majority India’s Sikhs have long sought to assert their linguistic, religious
and political identity in India.In1980,mounting communal tension between hindus and Sikhs
in the state of punjab led to violent clashes. Some sources estimate the number of deaths of
10
Targeted Violence Against Christians In India continued unabated in 2018, February 23, 2019( Apr 27, 2020,
11:40 IST), http://mattersIndia.com/2019/02/targeted-violence-against-christians-in-India-continued-unabated-
in-2018/
11
1977 SCR(2) 611
12
India Chapter2019- Annual Report,April 2019 (Apr 25, 2020, 09:45IST)
https://www.uscirf.gov/countries/India#annual-reports-chapters-summaries
about 8,000–17,000 while government sources estimates the death of about 2,800 Sikhs in
delhi and 3,350 nationwide.13 This incidence was based on religion hate against Sikhs and
that’s why this incident comes under the category of religious crime.
The India’s famous “unity in diversity,” the Kashmir valley is home to several distinct religious
and ethnic communities. While Muslims comprise around 96% of its population, hindus
comprise 2.5% and Sikhs a mere 1%. Attack by militants on Chitti Singh pora, household of
Sikh community came as a shock to them and then migration of Sikhs ensue.14
Gurpal Singh, a 35-year-old engineer who works as a primary school teacher because
engineering positions are hard to come by and has two young school-age daughters clarifies,
“Until you have a source of income, you cannot stay anywhere”. Gurpal’s family owns about
15 acres of land. But for himthis land is not just an economic asset; it holds meaning. On ithe
says is spilled the blood of seven family members who were killed in the post-partition
violence.
 ZOROASTRIAN
The population of this community in our country is about 69,000 and they mostly resides in
the state of maharashtra. The persecution of the community occurred throughout the history.
Muslims are recorded to have destroyed the fire temples of zoroastrians and mosque were built
in their place. Many libraries were burned and much of their cultural heritage was lost. The
persecution of zoroastrians became more common and widespread and the number of believers
of zoroastrians decreased by force significantly. Most were forced to convert due to abuse and
discrimination inflicted upon them by followers of Islam. Once a family of this community
was forced to convert to Islam, the small children were sent to an Islamic school called madarsa
and to study the about Islam; as a result of which many people lost their faith.
IV. VIOLATION OF VARIOUS RIGHTS OF MINORITY

The constitution of India neither defines the term “minority” nor identifies the minority groups.
In the context of history the word minority used here as prior to the constitution of India
separated from majority. Later under the ministry of minority affairs, central government for
the minority religious communities includes Sikhs, Muslims, buddhists, christians, zoroastrians
and jain15are notified as minority communities in the section 2(c) of the National Commission
13
India And The Sikh Challenge,Directorate of Intelligence,1987( Apr 25, 2020, 08:45IST)
https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp06t00412r000606740001-7
14
Malhotra Kaur Khushdeep,Business Lane, The Hindu ,August 11, 2019, ( Apr 27, 2020, 11:45IST),
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/profile/author/Khushdeep-Kaur-Malhotra-88735/
15
Jain SwetambarTerapanti v. per Despande(1982), appeal (civil) 730 of 1999
for Minorities Act 1992.
 MISLEADING FREEDOM OF RELIGION ACTS–CONVERSION AND

RECONVERSION
Of the 29 states in India, seven of them have adopted the Freedom of Religion Act which is
commonly known as anti-Conversion laws. These anti-conversion laws generally restricts
conversion by use of stimulus, force or any fraudulent means; any person involved in such a
conversion is should also be banned. However these laws have resulted in discriminatory
practices against minorities. It is not mentioned in the Indian constitution that whether “the
right to freedom of conversion” is related with “right to freedom of religion” under article 25.16
In the case of Digyadarsan Rajendra Ramdassji v. State of Andhra Pradesh, the apex court
decided that “the right to propagate one’s religion means the right to communicate a person’s
beliefs to another person or to expose the tenets of that faith but would not include the right to
‘convert’ another person to the former’s faith.”17
Although the anti-conversion law doesn’t ban conversions at all, in practice these laws favor
majority over minority which challenges the concept of secularism in Indian constitution. State
governments in India have described “subtle forms of charitable aid and development carried
out as a general part of a church’s missionas a cause of improper and unethical conversions.
So it is quite clear that despite the government’s claims that there are no objections to “genuine
conversion” the acts were intended to control or limit not only conversion done by inadmissible
means but also conversion done in general way.
 FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION REGULATION ACT, 1976
The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act18(FCRA) was passed in 1976 and amended in 2010
has consistently been used against civil society organizations, charities, and other non-
governmental organizations (NGOs).Under this legislation, missionaries and foreign religious
organizations must comes under the FCRA which limits the overseas aid to certain NGOs
including ones with religious coalition. Section 9 of the amended FCRA (2010) enables the
government of India to disallow acceptance of foreign aid which affects the public in general.
16
Dr. IqtidarKaramat Cheema,Constitutional And Legal Challenges Faced by Religious Minority in India,U.S.
Commission for International Religious Freedom, February2017( Apr 29, 2020, 19:45 IST)
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://d3lwycy8zkggea.cloudfront.net/1516830820
/constitutional-and-legal-challenges-faced-by-religious-minorities-in-india-uscirf-
2017.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiC2-
K_6I3pAhUhzTgGHWa6ATYQFjAAegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw3GLtE2sKWbzUwzNJY_dv4i&cshid=15881
71597935
17
AIR 1970 SCR(1)103
18
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act,2010, No. 42, Acts of Parliament,2010 (India)
Access to resources including foreign funding is a fundamental part of the right to freedom of
association under international law standardsand principles and more particularly part of
forming an association. Therefore any restriction on allowance to foreign funding must meet
the strict test for allowable restrictions for the right to association developed by the
international bodies for human rights.
 ARTICLE 48 OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION: PROTECTION OF COWS

LEGISLATION
Article 48 of the Indian constitution and most Indian states (24 out of 29 as of 2015)
significantly restrict or ban cow slaughter. Those found guilty of cow slaughter are subject to
fines or imprisonment both. Cow slaughter in India has remained a perpetual source of tensions
between hindu and Muslim communities. Beef is a critical source of nutrition for various
minority communities including dalits, Christians and Muslims. Members of these
communities work in the cattle transportation and beef industries including slaughter for food
consumption, hauling items, and producing leather goods. Slaughtering animals including
cows for the Islamic festival Eid-ul-Adha is also an essential practice in Islam. In the case of
Mohammad Hanif Quareshi v. State of Bihar19 a group of Muslim butchers challenged the
constitutional validity of the acts on the grounds they infringed on their fundamental rights
however the court has rejected their view. The cow protection laws are often mixed with anti-
Muslim sentiment which leads to mob lynching.
WHY JAIN, BUDDHIST and SIKHS don’t have their own personal law?
Article 25 of the Indian constitution deals with the freedom of religion. In explanation II in
sub-clause 2(b) jain, buddhist and Sikhs are considered as a part of hinduism. These minority
religions come under hindu law as well. These laws are mostly viewed to force legal inhalation
of these religions into hinduism rather than identifying them as distinct religious communities.
The government of India constituted the national commission to review the working of the
Indian constitution in february 2000 with justice M.N. Venkatachaliah as its chair. The
commission submitted its report in 2002 to the central government. The commission
recommends omission of explanation II to article 25 and clause 2(b) of article 25 has to be
reworded.20 However the Indian government has not adopted the above recommendations from
the past 14 years.
19
AIR 1959 SCR 629
20
Supra Note. 16 at 9
V. RECOMMENDATIONS
 It is the responsibility of the government to spread the message that religious violence will
not be tolerated through publicly voicing opposition to rising religious intolerance.
Collaborative steps must also be taken to addressing impunity by holding to account public
officials who have been responsible for human rights abuses including during past incidents
of mass violence.
 The government should promptly look into reports of harassment and intimidation of
victims of communal violence and their families and address undue delays which obstruct
efforts to secure justice. Steps must be taken to address the needs of survivors such as legal
assistance and various forms of retributions.
 Adopt strong measures to curb the activities of groups including the procreates and self-
proclaimed ‘cow-protection units’ as well as those involved with anti-love jihad and anti
conversion campaigns and address any forms of state aegis of such groups.
 Repeal or reform legislation and policies which infringe upon fundamental rights enshrined
in the constitution and fuels violence against religious minorities.
 The government should codify hate crimes which not only helps to ensure justice but more
importantly bit would be a guarantee to marginalized communities in India.
 Steps must be taken to restore the right to freedom of association for members of civil
society by repealing the FCRA and to address wider harassment against human rights
defenders including on the part of public officials. Discrimination in schools including
within educational material and in the classroom must also be addressed.
 Due consideration should be given to how hate crimes would be incorporated in criminal
codes. One way is to perceive hate crime as a distinct form of crime.
 The central government should advise the state’s to amend or withdraw rules prohibits
consumption and storage of beef in state’s.
 The central government should ensure that state agencies should promptly register,
prosecute and investigate persons who conduct forcible conversions against minorities
groups.
VI. CONCLUSION
The spirit of secularism is an outlook of life. It ensures a peaceful existence of all people
professing diverse religious or faiths. Religion is the belief in spiritual things in India. Religions
are many such as hindu, Islam and Sikh etc. It is upto individuals and left to their choice.
According to his urge and desire people can change and join any religion of their choice. Some

people think religion cannot be reconciled with secularism because religion leads to
indifference to material in life. This religious indifference promotes crime such as mob
lynching, conversions, love jihad etc. commonly known as religious crimes. In India there are
six classes of minorities present today. They have suffered more because of religious crimes.
It delineates a type of crim rather than a specific offence within Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860.
It also infringes various rights like constitutional and legal rights of minorities. The state must
ensure that in future no more hate crimes will occur and make strict laws regarding it. Religious
tolerance is the essence of Indian secularism. All religions whether it is Islam, Christianity,
Sikhism, Buddhism preached tolerance, equality, kindness and brotherhood.
*****

Religious Crimes in Developing Countries Indian Perspective

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Religious Crimes in Developing Countries Indian Perspective

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Page 673 - 683

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LAW

Follow this and additional works at: https://www.ijlmh.com/

Further, in case of any suggestion or complaints, please contact Gyan@vidhiaagaz.com.

Religious Crimes in Developing Countries:

II. STUDY ON RELIGIOUS LAW AND HATE CRIME

 What are religious laws?

hindu law, Muslim law and christian law.

 What are hate crimes?

III. MINORITIES IN INDIA AND HATE CRIMES

FIGURE1: India’s 2011 Census, a Population turning point

Various Crimes Against Muslims

CASE LAW: PEHLU KHAN

 Targeted the violence against Christians

IV. VIOLATION OF VARIOUS RIGHTS OF MINORITY

for Minorities Act 1992.

 MISLEADING FREEDOM OF RELIGION ACTS–CONVERSION AND

 FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION REGULATION ACT, 1976

 ARTICLE 48 OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION: PROTECTION OF COWS

© 2020. International Journal of Law Management & Humanities [ISSN 2581-5369]

© 2020. International Journal of Law Management & Humanities [ISSN 2581-5369]

You might also like